The Erosion of Due Process in America

How Trump’s War on Due Process Threatens Every American

There’s a phrase we don’t hear enough anymore: “No one is above the law.” It used to be a given in America. A principle we lived by. A moral compass that tethered us to our Constitution, to each other, and to our shared belief that justice isn’t about power—it’s about fairness. It’s about process. Due process.

But somewhere along the way, that compass was ripped out of our hands. And now we’re drifting.

Today, we live in a country where people are being picked up, detained, and even deported—no charges, no hearing, no judge. A signature on a piece of paper is all it takes to upend a life. That’s not America. That’s authoritarianism, dressed up in red, white, and blue.

Right now, thousands of federal workers—many of them veterans—are being stripped of their jobs without cause or recourse, all because one man has decided there is fraud and they’re not needed anymore. No warning, review or oversight. These are people who dedicated their lives to serving the country, and they’re being cast out like yesterday’s trash. No hearing. No appeal. Just gone.

This isn’t a hypothetical. It’s happening. Executive orders are being wielded like weapons—used to reshape our national security, financial regulations, environmental protections, and even global trade relationships. Not through open debate. Not through bipartisan compromise. But through unilateral action, carried out in the dead of night or in front of cameras, as if spectacle substitutes for substance.

Meanwhile, when judges dare to enforce the Constitution—when they do their job and apply the law—Trump and his allies attack them. They insult them. They threaten them. They brand them as enemies of the people. And we let it slide.

Well, I’m not letting it slide. Not anymore. Because due process is not a luxury. It is the bedrock of a free society. It’s the shield that protects the weak from the whims of the powerful. And without it, we are not a democracy. We’re just pretending.

History has taught us this lesson over and over.

There was a time when half the country couldn’t vote—not because they were unqualified, but because they were women. For decades, the fight for suffrage was met with violence, mockery, and institutional silence. But the women who marched, who organized, who were jailed and force-fed, knew the truth: without access to the ballot, there is no real due process. Because if you can’t vote, you can’t shape the laws that govern you or choose the leaders who enforce them.

The 19th Amendment wasn’t handed out—it was demanded. It was a hard-fought correction to a system that denied millions their rightful place in the democratic process. It’s a reminder that due process doesn’t just live in the courtroom—it begins at the ballot box. And when people are stripped of their voice, justice is already under attack.

When Japanese Americans were interned during World War II, it was because due process was abandoned. No trials. No defenses. Just fear, racism, and executive orders. It took decades—and unrelenting voices of conscience—for the government to admit its wrongdoing.

During the Red Scare, McCarthyism ran wild. Careers were destroyed. Families were torn apart. All based on suspicion and accusation without due process. Eventually, Americans fought back. Brave journalists, principled lawmakers, and ordinary citizens stood up and said, “Enough.”

In the 1960s, civil rights activists demanded due process for Black Americans facing lynch mobs and sham trials. They marched, bled, and died for it. The courts—eventually—heard their cries. And slowly, justice began to rise.

Even after 9/11, when fear gripped the nation, and rights were suspended in the name of security, it was due process—restored by courageous lawyers, judges, and watchdogs—that brought us back from the edge.

And now, here we are again. On the edge.

This isn’t just about politics. This is about the future we’re leaving behind. It’s about our kids and our grandkids, growing up in a country that may no longer guarantee the rights we once took for granted. It’s about what kind of America we’re willing to accept.

Will we allow loyalty to a leader to replace loyalty to the law? Will we normalize government by decree? Will we accept a country where rights are conditional and justice is optional?

I won’t.

Because due process isn’t partisan. It isn’t left or right. It’s American. And when it disappears, it doesn’t just disappear for “them.” It disappears for all of us.

This moment demands courage—not just from lawmakers and judges—but from each of us. Everyday Americans who still believe in the promise of a just society. We need to speak up. We need to show up. We need to vote like due process depends on it—because it does.

If we want to preserve what’s left of our democracy, we can’t wait for someone else to fix it. We are the fix. We are the firewall.

The Constitution doesn’t defend itself. It needs us.

And the time to act is now.

Mitch Jackson, Esq. | links

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Back and forth audio conversation on this article and topic here.

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